Marulan Driver Training Day - 17th May 2015
05 June 2015 / Story by Helen Green, photos by Josh Fitzgerald
Thrillers in the Mist
The second in the 2015 series of driver trainings day at Marulan Driver Training Centre (MDTC) was greeted with a chilly and foggy morning, with Skippy (or his much younger cousin) bouncing down to the last turn. The fog-enshrouded track walk first thing had anxiety levels rising as the tarmac was a nice slippery grey, but it was a good way to get the warm blood pumping with the nerves increasing with every step. From the wide eyes of some first-timers as apexes and positive braking was mentioned, it looked like they really had the blood pumping as they were trying to take it all in. Trust me, it’s the same feeling on your next day on track… and the third, and the fourth, and….
After reviewing the last training day at Marulan we took the opportunity to try a few new things. The advisers drove for the first-timers for the first 5 minutes of the initial run to actually show what all that track talk actually meant. Yes, David, they did all drive S-E-D-A-T-E-L-Y (well at least that time), and then swapped drivers so that all the information was nice and fresh. I think the first round was quite an exciting adventure onto the tarmac for all, especially for the Roo runners in group 1 (Thanks Josh, you did a great job, no roos on the track).
Thankfully, the fog lifted after the first round and the track started to dry very quickly, everyone was having a great time. There were some times where a car got a little loose and out of shape; just showing that entrants were pushing themselves that little farther, including one making a grassy foray towards the tyre wall (especially notable after hearing it had been demolished by an EVO only the day before). It looked quite spectacular!
We had 55 entrants; with 18 first-timers, 11 beginners, 11 beginner-novice, 4 novice, 2 experts, plus of course the 9 advisers, in 7 groups. Each group was split into groups of up to 10 cars based on drivers previous track experience with ten minute sessions running back to back to ensure minimal delays between groups and give drivers enough time to get into a rhythm for each session. We managed to squeeze 5 rounds in the day for all run groups. We had a young driver (17yo) participate in the day which was a welcome opportunity. Feedback we had from participants on the day was that there are a number of other younger drivers from the club family who would be interested. This can be organised in the future dependent on numbers.
It was a great day and in no time at all it was all coming to a close. Everyone's performance really improved over the course of the day, most noticeably in the first timers; we have a few very keen entrants that I’m sure we will see again. Thanks to everyone for having such a great day and enjoying yourselves, it makes the day so good, the MDTC staff had a great time which makes it easier for us to hold these events.
Huge thanks to all our advisers who come to assist; David Lawler, Stewart Temesvary, Luke Kovacic, Russell Maxwell, Bryan Shedden, Keith Monaghan, Steve Green, Tammie Hotz, and John Karayannis. It is safe to say you made the first-timers and a few others' day. Thanks for making yourselves available to many other participants to make it an enjoyable and educational day for all. Thanks for all your support.
Looking forward to seeing you for the next Driver Training Day at Marulan on 25th October.
